Electrical contact device.



- PATENTBD JUNE 6, 1905. H. BEAU & 0. PORTILLO.

m ELECTRICAL CONTACT DEVICE.

APPLIOAIIION FILED JULY 10. 1902.

FIG.

' "INVENTORS:

UNITED STATES Patented June 6, 1905.

PATENT OFFICE.

HENRI BEAU, or PARIS,

SPAIN.

ELECTRICAL CONTACT DEVICE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 791,603, dated June 6, 1905.

Application filed July 10, 1902. Serial No. 115,005.

To "all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that we, HENRI BEAU, a citizen of the Republic of France, residing in France, and CIPRIANO PORTILLO, a subject of the King of Spain, residing in Madrid, Spain, have jointly invented certain new and useful Improvements in Electrical Contact Devices, of which the following is a specification.

Our invention relates to current-taking or contact devices capable of the most varied applications, and operates, ing contact with or pressing upon bare or insulated conductors by means of screws or pins.

This device is especially adapted for temporary installations or for illumination by means of incandescent electric lamps fixed to wires or cables arranged in festoons or upon walls or.for lamps fixed against gratings, constituting panels or surfaces of any kind in the decoration of which electric light is employed.

Whenwe apply our device, as is most generally the case, to insulated conductors, the screws or points which receive the current by means of pressure upon the conductors penetrate the insulating layer, thereby rendering it unnecessary to bare the conductors at the point where the current is to be taken, and all trace of the penetration by means of which the current has been taken at once disappears when the pins are no longer engaged in the insulation after the removal of the current-taking support. The pins which actually make contact with the electrical conductors vantageously be independent of the parts which effect the clamping, and they may be hidden within the insulated base of the support,thereby preventing the formation of short circuits between the outer rods which eifect the clamping, the screw-heads of which might come into contact with metallic or conducting parts. current-takin g rods or pins are forcedthrough the insulation and into the conductor with a simple rectilinear movement and are held there by the frictional embrace of the insulation even if the forcing-screw should become a little loosened.

essentially, by mak- By this construction also the pointed- We Will now describe a specific embodiment of our current-taking support with ref- Paris, erence to the accompanying drawings.

Figure 1 is a cross-section of a lamp-socket support with circular groove and concealed point, Fig. 2 is a detailed plan'view of one of the clamping members which cause the point to penetrate the insulation of the conductor. Fig. 3 is an end view of the same part. a

The socket-support in the embodiment illustrated is constituted by a circular base or disk A,of wood or other insulating material,in the periphery of which is formed a circular groove w. Upon this support is fixed a socket B, suitably adapted for the reception of an incandescence electric lamp by means of a bayonet-joint. The washer A receives internally rods a, which are screwed therein and which extend within the socket B in order to serve for the adjustment of the lamp and supply the current which is to pass into the filament. These rods terminate below in an enlarged portion 0, against which bears the tail of a pin 6. The enlarged portion 0 or the inner contact ends of the rods a may be applied after the rods are screwed in place either by soldering an additional piece on or by upset-- ting the end of the rod. The two pins 6 are forced into two diametrically opposite points of the washer Ato the bottom of the annular groove :20, formed in the periphery of the said washer A, in such a manner that the points of the pins 7) project slightly within the suitably acute angle of the groove w. The groove 00 may be V-shaped, as shown, or ofother suitable shape for accommodating conductors of different diameters. A bead of s older' deposited at the bottom of the holes formed in the washer A insures perfect assemblage of the pointed pins I) with the rods a, so that the electric current which has to be taken by the pointed pins 6 may certainly pass into the rods a and reach the electric lamp in the example under consideration; but it will of course be understood that the electric current reaching the current-contact points in this manner may be utilized for any other purpose I than the supply of an electric lamp fitted directly upon the washer.

movement. A current-taking support for incandescence-lamp sockets and the like provided with a base of insulating material having a grooved 5 s own at 8, 1n order that it may present a cere ge, and provided also with pointed currenttarn height at this point and press efiiciently taking rods 6 held fixed in use and projecting upon t e conductor 0. In order to permrt of into said grooves and with screwthreaded t e lntroduction of the rod q rnto the part on rods 9 terminating opposite said grooves, said the angle-piece may present (see Fig. 3) a slot rods 6 making contact with the respective teru, permitting of the engagement of the flat nrinals of the socket.

ead s, so as to bring the rod (1 up to the 3. A current-taking support for incandesscrew-threaded hole 1). The rod q is then cence-eleetric-lamp sockets and thelike in the screwed in. By this means the clampingperiphery of which is formed a V shaped screw which presses upon the conductor in groove :6 for receiving the conductors, said,

5 order that the current-taking pins 6 may penesupport cornpr rsing in combination pointed trate the insulation and make contact with the cur rent-takin rods adapted to penetrate the metal core does not receive current This latinsulation of the conductor s and to make conter reaches the rods a through parts which are tact with the metal thereof and means posrentirely within the support. troned outside of the conductors for forcrn 3 he current-taking members are concealed such conductors into contact wrtlr said cur rentwithin the support. They cannot, therefore, taking rods, whereby the lr\ed rods penetrate come into contact in any way with outer obthe insulation and make contact with the corr- ]ects,thus preventing the accidental formation uctor by a simple rectilinear moverrrerrt the of short circuits. shape of the groove serving to for crbly urde '35 he current-taking rods may be formed in the conductors to the points of the currentsuch a manner as to establish perfect contact taking rods. with the metal of the conductor. They may In witness whereof we have hereunto signed e, for example, screw-threaded rods with a our names in the presence of two subscribing pin of greater or less sharpness, or prns may witnesses.

4 be employed or tongues sufiiciently pointed HENRI BEAU. to penetrate the insulation and make contact (JIPRIANO PORTILLO. w1th the metal to a suitable extent Witnesses:

hat we claim, and desire to secure by Let- MARoEL ARMENGAUD, Jenne, ters Patent of the United States, 1s 1 EDWARD P. MAoLnAN. 

